The Cruel Mother Diaries: Spring Break Day 3

Official quote from Day 2: "You only care about yourself!"

That would be from Emma to me, in her unadulterated fury that I would not let her play Twilight Scene It on the tv. She spent a good amount of time in her room for that one, let me tell you.

Tuesday was not nearly as successful as Monday. While Hayley didn't ask even once to look at a screen, Emma was focused on it. Today I'm going to tell her flat out that if she even mentions it, she's in her room. 'Cause I was losing my patience yesterday and I'm not gonna go there today.

(Thank goodness I took a nap. I hadn't slept much the night before and if I hadn't had that nap... oh, the day would have been just horrible. *shiver at the thought*)

I really am beginning to think Hayley switched bodies with some insanely cooperative tween. I asked her to do the dishes yesterday and she did without complaint. I asked her to empty the upstairs waste baskets and she did. Along with the downstairs ones!

She even spent several hours cleaning out her dresser and desk drawers. Wow!!! She's so pleased with how organized everything is now. Huge high five to her! You are awesome, Boo!

So here's the part I wasn't expecting about the girls' Amish lifestyle... how many times I almost say "go watch one show" or "look this up on the computer". See, when Emma gets tired, she needs to totally veg out. Reading doesn't relax her; it just works her up. If she's falling apart just before the witching hour, sometimes I'll suggest she watch a single show.

When she reached that point yesterday and the purple shadows under her eyes were growing darker by the second, it would have been so easy to shoo her off to "relax" while I got dinner ready. I resisted, though, difficult as it was.

And after dinner when there was still plenty of time before bed and no homework/music/chores to finish? Even I wanted to sit down and watch tv. But mustering the remainder of my energy, I rallied the girls (Scott was at a business dinner) for a rousing game of Monopoly and popcorn.

It worked as smooth as butter. An hour passed quickly and before I knew it, they were both tucked warmly into bed.

Day 2 complete.

What will day Day 3, another rainy, freezing day, hold? I'm not sure, but I do know we need to get out of the house. Normally, I'd have Hayley do some research online to see what kind of indoor fun we can come up with in the area. Sheesh. I depend on these darned electronics so much!